Kauai is among the oldest islands in the chain. We read somewhere that it was once the current size of the Big Island. Like the others, it was formed by volcanic eruptions. The coastal rocks reveal a series of layers, accumulated over time.

Rain and wind carved the striking formations we admire now. The first native inhabitants lived in caves and fished off the beaches.

Surprisingly, we spotted only one thin waterfall. (Look for the thin white line on the right side below.) Once a sugar cane industry developed, water was re-directed to feed the fields.

With some imagination, can you spot a giant rabbit munching on some grass in the next picture?

A series of parallel ridges greeted us before we reached the north end of our journey, near the south end of the Kalalau trail that begins at the trailhead we saw on the north coast.

On the way back, we had dinner, which required some multi-tasking by the crew.

We we’re quick enough to capture photos of breaching whales, but they’ll stick in our memories. Fortunately we had time to capture part of a full-arch rainbow so vivid that we could distinguish the Roy G. Biv colors.